Ensuring that your warehouse is fully optimised, safe, and compliant through racking protection solutions is the secret to flourishing within a safe working environment. The daily operations of a high-functioning facility still present numerous risks to your operations and workforce.
One of the biggest known hazards is posed by collisions caused by poor and improper use of handling equipment like loaders, forklifts and picking trucks. Damaged or weakened components and quarantined aisles seriously affect your day-to-day operations and lose your company money by associated downtime.
Cumulative Damage
In more extreme cases, cumulative damage and heavy impact can result in full pallet racking collapse. Mitigating these risks with racking protection is the most logical and responsible solution for your business.
Despite the multiple benefits to your business, it often gets overlooked – despite HSE guidelines recommending that racking protection be installed. A lack of legislation allows many businesses to sacrifice the costs in favour of additional space – or view it as an unnecessary cost altogether.
Considering the price of steel and components nowadays, it would make much more sense to protect it as much as possible. Racking maintenance can quickly become an all-consuming cost to a business if components are left exposed, and in later stages can become unsalvagable and will require replacement with an entirely new and costly system.
Protecting Racking
The most effective way of protecting your pallet racking system can come in a few different forms, although it is advised that you consult with your installer on which one is best for your specific setup.
Column guards are the most common protection against forklifts and pallet truck collisions and the best product to start with. End-of-aisle barriers provide essential protection for pallet racking also, as the ends of aisles are more exposed to potential collisions from turning too fast or misjudgment of allocated space.
If the ends are unprotected, some of the most vital components to your industrial storage racks are open to significant impact.
Clear Signs
Also of importance to combat, the amount of damage is to have clear signage and markings to indicate how distanced equipment should be from the racking system. These markings and signs should be a part of your health and safety training for new and existing employees to know the safe boundaries and risks stemming from collision or overloading.
Consulting with a racking installer on how to best protect your investment into warehouse storage equipment, as well as finely assembling a process of reporting and inspecting your pallet racking regularly, helps to keep your system safe and secure and able to store stock for a long lifespan.
Contact the team at Monarch Shelving today for all commercial shelving, racking protection solutions, and pallet racking enquiries.
